The Annotated Persuasion

October 15, 2010

Shapard's second annotated edition of Jane Austen--following his Annotated Pride and Prejudice, with his Annotated Sense and Sensibility scheduled for next year--is an invaluable contribution to the literature surrounding Austen. Shapard includes illuminating illustrations, a chronology of the novel's events, a full bibliography, a section of maps, and a glossary of places mentioned in the novel. While some of the annotated content is repetitive--the same words are redefined in fairly close proximity as they reappear in the text--the information offered is rarely superfluous, even to those familiar with Austen's works and Regency England. While Patricia Meyer Spacks's "Norton Critical Edition" of this novel also has a chronology and bibliography, its annotations do not approach the comprehensiveness of Shapard's. Shapard does not include critical essays or contemporary literature, as does Spacks, so both books should be considered indispensable resources on the novel in any academic library. VERDICT Book club members, Jane Austen fans, and casual readers alike will find Shapard very useful. An essential purchase for academic, public, and high school libraries.--Megan Hodge, Randolph-Macon Coll. Lib., Ashland, VA

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